Case Studies - Working With Families

‘The families of many of my pupils have many life issues to face - and the school is in a very deprived area with high rates of unemployment and social deprivation. I think the school needs to work with families if we are going to support our pupils to study STEM beyond 16. But how do we do that?’

Head of Careers

Advice

Working with families is often a very positive start to ensuring pupils themselves are engaged in learning. One easy way to start is by inviting parents into any celebration events you are holding which relate to STEM Careers. For example, if you have a STEM After-School Club, or a team in the Young Engineers competition, you could invite carers and/or families into school to showcase the work that has been done. You will probably already have a good idea of the times that suit parents/carers but you might like to consider having more than one 'showcase event' at different times so that you can include as many people as possible in the celebration.

You could also think about the publicity materials you use with parents, for example, the UK Resource Centre for Women in SET and the London Engineering Project produced a leaflet aimed at encouraging parents to support daughters who might be interested in STEM careers. Take a look at the leaflet on the resources page of this toolkit.

When you do have families and carers in school, you could ask organisations like the local STEMNET and the local education business link organisation to provide a stand and some positive role models who can speak confidently about the rewards of a STEM career.

Some projects have successfully involved parents and carers in activities where the young people and their families work jointly to solve a problem. In the RA3 project in South Yorkshire, for example, the 'Grand Day Out' concept was developed where families were invited to take part in a Saturday morning STEM-focused event, learning how to make things together and having fun in the process!

Some parents may have stereotypical views on what is involved in post -16 study, seeing it as too academic .They may not know about the range of qualifications available and so it is important to ensure that parents are fully informed on the whole range of post-16 study options. They may be more receptive and supportive to their children if they feel that post-16 study is more employment-oriented, and that young people following a vocational route can often be at an advantage as they have practical experience rather than coming directly from school.

The websites below will give you some ideas of how to work with those who look after young people might be achieved.

Useful websites

www.thebrightsidetrust.org The Brightside Trust exists to help disadvantaged individuals by working to raise their achievement levels and by reducing the social barriers to their success.

www.campaign-for-learning.org.uk The Campaign for Learning is an organisation who works to create an inclusive society in which learning is valued, understood, wanted and widely available to every individual.

www.familylearning.org.uk This is a general site, not directly aimed at STEM careers, but provides resources and information on to involve parents in school life. Click Involving Asian Families in Family learning (video). This also gives a direct link to TeachersTV which may also have other videos and resources to help answer this question